Official Trailer: Gorilla!

The Backbrain has squirmed with information on writer/director Dave Shaw's new monster/comedy retro parody Late Night Classics presents GORILLA! before. If you read the previous articles, you probably thought it both strange and yet familiar. Well, just check out the new trailer.


Source: via Avery Guerra.

Previous Backbrain Posts on Gorilla!

Exclusive: The Late Night Gorilla Lives!

Writer/director Dave Shaw is currently busy preparing for the final days' shoot in a new monster/comedy retro parody Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!
 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes notwithstanding, guys in slightly tawdry gorilla suits remain an ever-popular feature of ... well, those late-night horror shows we all grew up with and remember fondly.



"I've always had a love for 50s and 60s B-movies," Shaw (pictured below) told Undead Backbrain.

"The kind where the monster was a radioactive mutant of some sort or horrific beast (such as a gorilla) who would jump out of the shadows at delicate sweet young things while a stoic, square-jawed man of action attempted to defeat the beast.

"These were the black-and-white epics from such filmmakers as Samuel Z. Arkoff and Roger Corman and, shudder, Ed Wood, that kept teenage drive-in goers riveted way back when. I also have a love for the comedies I grew up on in the 80s -- from directors like John Landis (as a tribute, there is a bumbling cop named Officer Landis in my film), who made National Lampoon's Animal House, The Blues Brothers and Three Amigos! amongst others, as well as The Zucker Brothers of Airplane! and Naked Gun fame.

"With Late Night Classics presents GORILLA!, I've set out to marry the two genres. It's a black-and-white comedy about a young lady who must turn to some Rat Pack- obsessed elders to help stop a gorilla who is attacking all her friends. Yes, there are some horror elements, but we're more interested in giggles than gore with this one."

Late Night Classics presents GORILLA! stars Sara Duplancic, Francis Fisk, Paul Washer, Sherry Thurig, Mike Kelly, Dave Shaw and Penu Chalykoff as the Gorilla.

Sara Duplancic as Sara and Paul Washer as Officer Landis

 

Sara Duplancic getting into her Ripley mode

 

Paul Washer as Officer Landis with camera operator Julianne Cameron

Mimsy (Sherry Thurig) and Anna (Sara Duplancic)

 

Paul Washer as Officer Landis, confused

 

Sara confers with director Dave Shaw: "That love scene with the Gorilla has got to go!"

 

Sherry Thurig: "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr Shaw"

Asked about his own background, Shaw explained:

"As for myself, in the early part of the century, I hosted a television program called "Condensed Classics with Dave Shaw" playing a sleazy lounge-lizard type who hosts old black-and-white monster movies with a different cocktail dress-clad starlet each week. The show ran and reran (and reran and reran) for a period of close to eight years on Movieola The Short Film Channel and its partner station Silver Screen Classics.

"Currently, I work at Ottawa Little Theatre managing Front of House and Customer Service. I love it there and being around such a creative environment revived my creative instinct. Could I write and direct a play? Hell, no. I would have no idea what I  was doing. But could I write and direct a movie where one of the supporting characters was a sleazy lounge lizard former TV show host? That I could do! With the help of Julian Adderley, my trusty co-producer and editor (he also served as editor for "Condensed Classics") a GORILLA! was born!"

One thing the production still needs is money. Said Shaw:

"We are always looking for more investors. An investment of $20 or more gets an on-screen Executive Producer credit. We have raised a good chunk of our budget this way and will continue to do so as we head into post-production."

Learn more about the film on its official website/blog.

• Source: Dave Shaw via Avery Guerra. IMDb. Written by Robert Hood.

Addendum: A New Featurette

Getting a Head in the Swamp

A swamp, dumb teenagers displaying the usual rabid hormonal symptoms, murder ... and a zombie head. Oh, yes, and lots of punning jokes around the word "Head".

Swamphead (US-2011; dir. Justin Propp and Dustin Drover)

Synopsis:

An ancient relic is found at the bottom of a local lake which resurrects the severed head of Robert Gross, aka Swamphead. A group of hapless teens come across the relic and their weekend camping trip becomes a nightmare of blood, feces, and more head than a night in Tijuana. Can they destroy the zombie head or will they die trying?

Trailer:

Writers/Directors: Justin Propp and Dustin Drover
Producers: Justin Propp, Dustin Drover, Derrick Carey, Jon Hanusa
Starring: Josh Harmon, Andrea Smith, Damien Drover, Theodore Koepke, Shana Friedman

Upcoming showings:

• Oshkosh Horror Fest 22nd Oct.
• Internet Simulcast same night through Infini-tropolis.

Source: Jonathan Hanusa via Avery Guerra. Facebook page. Posted by Robert Hood

This Bug's Got Bite!

Remember the much-anticipated hillbilly horror/giant monster flick The Millennium Bug, directed by Kenneth Cran. Well, in case you've been living under a rock (and who doesn't sometimes) here's some comprehensive Undead Backbrain articles to remind you.

While they're off reading those, the rest of you can take a gander at the latest picture of the monster and his very special grin. Click on the image to get the full effect!

The film is completed and a limited early release DVD is now on sale (well before it's introduced to the world through a mainstream distributor). Right now, you can pick it up for $15 from http://mbugmovie.com/store.html. Buyers of this limited release DVD get exclusive access to the latest behind-the-scenes video, which shows (we're told) how they "filmed the scene in which actress Ginger Pullman gets slimed by the monster". The first thousand people who order the DVD will also be entered into a raffle for a signed piece of original artwork by director Kenneth Cran.

I haven't seen the film yet, but a few lucky reviewers have and the reception is enthusiastic. For example, Ain't It Cool News describes it as "...a dash of GODZILLA, a sprinkle of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and hell, even a bit of JURASSIC PARK mixed in" and io9.com adds: "... a seriously gory flick that answers the age-old question of what would happen if Godzilla rampaged through a Rob Zombie movie."

So far, The Millennium Bug is entered in eight festivals, in California, New York, Georgia, Indiana, Canada, France, and England. Tickets and information for each festival are on the website. Of special interest will be its presence on the program for the B Movie Celebration in Franklin, Indiana, which runs from 23rd to 25th of September (details can be found in this Brainspasm article).

Finally, I'll leave you with the really good news that the film's creators are giving away a free copy of the limited edition DVD each month to new email list members. So join the M-Bug team, and tell your friends to do likewise, for a chance at winning a copy of the movie: http://mbugmovie.com/join.html

Addendum: Four Behind-the-Scenes/Making of videos are now available, just like this one about making the monster's head:

Source: Press release (via Avery Guerra). Written by Robert Hood

Exclusive: In the Devil's Courthouse

The title In the Devil's Courthouse conjures up lots of things, but that the film might be a classic cryptozoological creature feature wasn't at the forefront of my thoughts on the matter.

Synopsis:

It lives on this mountain. On The Devil’s Courthouse. The Cherokee people knew of the evil that lurks there. They carved the story of the beast into stone for all to see and to serve as a warning throughout the ages. A warning that too many have ignored for too long. Now, the beast has emerged from the darkness... and it’s hungry. Unfortunately for Leah and her newest boyfriend, Josh, they’re about to find out the terrifying truth behind the legend. Soon after their camp site is attacked, Leah makes a desperate phone call to her brother, Steve, while running for her life. Steve rushes to the rescue with his girlfriend, Lauren, and Max, a fellow police officer. After tracking his sister for hours, the group is thrown into a terrifying struggle for survival as the “Devil” judges their souls and decides which of them will live and which of them will die. Can any of them survive the nightmare in the woods at the Devil’s Courthouse?

On the other hand, that it might involve a lot of blood was always on the cards. The devil's just like that, you know. Judgemental in the extreme. And not prone to being just.

Latest Trailer:

Second Poster:

Made for Brain Juice Productions by writer/director/producer Ken Comito, In the Devil's Courthouse is in the final stages of post-production, with Comito shooting some add-on footage and tweaking some technical hitches. He expects the film to be released later in the year.

Although it was conceived and written using the “cabin in the woods” or “come to me” formula for simplicity and with budget in mind, the screenplay and subsequent production of In the Devil’s Courthouse quickly evolved beyond either of these two structural definitions. This was in part due t necessity. The simple, budget-friendly, one location aspect of the “cabin in the woods” formula became more complex as the interior of the primary “cabin” location was too small to accommodate cast and crew. We had to plan for a second “cabin” for all interior shots and some exterior shots. The number of exterior shooting locations also quickly multiplied. We found so many beautiful locations, from the Pisgah Covered Bridge in Asheboro to numerous locations at Hanging Rock State Park and along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Appalachian Mountains, that we had to incorporate them into the movie. (Press release)

The main cast is:

Ashley Marie Nelson .................................... Leah
Dustin Webb ................................................. Steve
Kristen Snider ............................................... Lauren
Patrick Ferrara .............................................. Max
Duane Trunnell ............................................. Danny

Below is a prop from the film, a map showing "the Courthouse":

 

More information (and lots of production stills) can be found on the film's official website. An interview with the director appears on The Times News.

• Source: Brain Juice Productions via Avery Guerra; Press release; Official website; Facebook page. See also Horror-Movies.ca.
• Written by Robert Hood

Addendum: Old Teaser Trailer:

Bio•Slime Gets Contagious

The slimy horror film once known as Bio • Slime has undergone a name change.

Fangoria reports writer/director John Lechago as saying:

“Since [Cannes], Contagion was offered as the alternative title for the international market, and every buyer seemed to prefer that one ... We are making a point to include ‘John Lechago’s’ in the title—not because of my raging ego, but because there are actually a few movies out there called Contagion, including one coming up from Steven Soderbergh."

Doesn't seem like a great idea to me -- and it's much more conventional and uninteresting as a title. Oh, well. The film itself still looks excellent.

Meanwhile, here's the latest trailer:

• Source: Fangoria via Avery. Written by Robert Hood.
• Previous Undead Backbrain articles: Bio•Slime Drips from the Walls; More Tentacles, More Bio•Slime; New Bio•Slime Trailer Oozes the Good Stuff. And one from Undead Brainspasm: Getting into the Bio-Slime.

No Budget Horror: Ghoul from the Tidal Pool

In his unremitting search for the best and the worst of ultra-low budget film-making, Kaiju Search-Robot Avery has discovered a beauty -- Ghoul from the Tidal Pool (US-2010; dir. Burgundy Featherkile).  Even the director concedes that it may be one of the "best" bad films of all time. Made through Featherkile's determination and a structured re-organisation of no experience, little knowledge and an indomitable spirit, along with the combined efforts of the entire citizenry of the Oregon coastal village of Yachats, Ghoul makes other guerilla film-makers look like rabid monkeys.

"It's so bad it's horrible!"

 

Synopsis:

A cantankerous librarian reluctantly joins forces with a red-blooded, All-American boy and his bodacious grandmother to lead their isolated coastal village into a ruthless scuffle with a Ghoul from Hell!

Trailer:

Desperate to get to the bottom of this horror, Avery travelled the length and breadth of the internet to interview Burgundy Featherkile. What is revealed will shock and horrify you!

Here is Burgundy herself -- the face of evil incarnate:

Avery Guerra: When did you know that you wanted to become a filmmaker?

Burgundy Featherkile: The insanity struck shortly after I finished reading Robert Rodriguez's book/diary Rebel without a Crew in 2008.

AG: Who are some of your influences/idols?

BF: There are many great directors who educated me by example. Including but not limited to (as the lawyers say) Gene Wilder, Ron Howard, Paul Bartel, Clint Eastwood, Val Lewton, Spielberg, Alex de la Iglesia, Irvin S. Yeaworth, and Guillermo del Toro.

AG: Where did the idea for this film Ghoul From the Tidal Pool come from?

BF: I came away from a "White Elephant" party with an incredibly ugly, star-shaped, metal thingy designed so candle light could shine out through the perforations along the arms of the star.

As a devout recycler I was in a quandary -- should I stoop so low as it throw it in the garbage? My husband, Dave Baldwin (author of Snake Jazz and Limbic Hurly-Burly), came to the rescue with the suggestion that I could make a horror film and use it as the monster. The original script was written by Dave; it was about one page in length and included a lot of sock puppets and screaming. He really likes sock puppets. After laughing a lot, the script was put on a shelf and forgotten. Then my granddaughter, J.H.S. Featherkile, told me how thrilled her co-workers were when she told them that her cool Granny was making a horror movie. Oops! A Granny will do virtually anything to retain her "cool" status, so the movie project was promptly set back on track.

AG: How would you best describe the film?

BF: It's a tardy entry in the 1950s horror genre, and was strongly influenced by The Blob. Ghoul From the Tidal Pool is the product of a community effort to show off our community and have a lot of Yachatian-style fun. It shows many of the popular businesses and local scenery, as well as approximately 223 residents of, and visitors to, Yachats, Oregon.

AG: Some may say that the film looks to be a strong contender for the "best bad movie of all time". Was that ever your intention while you were filming? What would you say to this?

BF: We set out to make a really bad movie, and clearly succeeded.

AG: What would you like the audience to take from the experience that is the Ghoul?

BF: I hope that anyone who sees the movie will recognize that over 200 people got together to prove by example that anyone can do something they've never done before, learn something, have a lot of fun, and have something to show for it when they're done.

AG: Where did you find the cast and crew to make your movie? Can you tell us a bit about them?

BF: What a crew! There was a small core group of locals who helped me move equipment and set up scenes; and they all appear in the movie, most of them as leads or in strong supporting roles. Even if they hadn't planned to be in front of the camera, they ended up there because we always needed more people than showed up to be in a scene. Many of the bit parts were done by people who passed by and turned their heads to look as we were setting up or shooting; the next thing those gawkers knew they had signed a release and were standing in front of the cameras! Everyone who was in and worked on the movie was an unpaid volunteer. The title song was written by a member of the "Polka Dots", a local singing group and performed by them in the studio of one of our fine local artists. We had two cameras and I operated both; I ran back and forth between them while both cameras were taping.

AG: How did the production go? Any funny or horror stories from the set that you'd care to share?

BF: The film is dedicated to the late Andrew Batchelder, our Ghoul Wrangler Extraordinaire, who also appears in the film as Zeke, the drunk. Andrew wrote his own scene and co-directed it as well. His part of the scene was taped on one day, and the General's part was taped a couple of months later. I learned several important things about editing when I set out to make it look like they were talking to each other.

There was only one person (in 223 participants) involved in the movie who didn't have a good time. We were scheduled to tape the last few major scenes of the movie when I received an email from "The Librarian", who was supposed to be the main character of the movie, saying:

"It is now 4:33 am and I have been suffering from the most extreme panic attack. I simply cannot continue with this movie, it is just too much."

My blood pressure rose significantly until about 10 minutes later when I decided that with some re-shooting, and shifting the lead to the young man who was originally the Librarian's sidekick [Jordan Ostrum, pictured below], we could still limp through to the end. It wasn't the story I wanted; it was a story I could live with.

AG: As a monster fan, I'm always interested in a monster's origin. Where does the Ghoul come from?

BF: That question actually comes up in the movie. Watch for it in the early part of the party on the upper deck of the house with the bomb shelter in the garage. The answer, of course, is "from the tidal pool". In the second part of the movie, you discover that there is actually an army of ghouls, mutated by strange chemicals in a secret military (possibly underwater) facility that's been in the mythical village of Yachats for 50 years. We don't really have anything like that, of course. (At least, not that we know of.)

AG: I believe there are some references to Japanese giant monster films in Ghoul -- even a scene in Japanese with subtitles!

BF: The scene in Japanese was a tribute to all those wonderfully bad Japanese horror movies from the 1950s and 1960s, plus an opportunity for Japanese speakers to share an inside joke, knowing that the subtitles are completely different from what they're saying. The Japanese people who did the scene were so young that they didn't recognize the names of any of those monsters, except for Godzilla.  It was one of my favorite scenes to tape; they were very charming as they took my English script and translated it into Japanese, deciding who would say which lines.
For reference, this is what the Japanese were really saying:

MIDORI: Did you hear the girl in the chicken suit warning people?
JIRO: That was odd. And did you notice that their "wise woman of the woods" sounds like Nostradamus.
CHIKAKO: I feel like I'm in the middle of a 1950s horror movie.
YOICHI: And it’s a bad movie! How can making a few locals and tourists disappear compare to the destruction of Tokyo!
MIDORI: Rodan could fly in and grab off their Ghoul, just as an appetizer.
JIRO: I suppose that next they'll kill their monster.
CHIKAKO: Our Godzilla is a real monster. He always comes back.
YOICHI: Even Gamera and Ghidrah keep coming back.
MIDORI: Hmmm. I wonder what these people will do for a sequel.

[Note: Rob: The adjectives used to described Japanese tokusatsu of that period are purely those of the interviewee. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Editor of this site. Wonderful, yes. Bad, no. -- Avery: Perhaps Burgundy meant: "those wonderfully bad US edits of the great Japanese monster films of the 1950s and 1960s."]

AG: What have the reactions to the film been like so far? Has the community where the movie was made been very supportive of it?

BF: The movie's Premiere in April 2010 was completely booked out just 9 days after it was announced, with some people flying in from other States for the event. Yachats, our neighbors in Waldport, and our visitors support the movie strongly. After all, many of them are in it! Hundreds of copies of the DVD have been sold at "Mari's Books and..." and at the "Drift Inn", both of which are in the movie. We've had monthly showings in Yachats with large and enthusiastic audiences. October 30, 2010 will be the last one.

 

AG: So what's next for you? Any other films in the future perhaps other monster movies or a return to the Ghoul?

BF: Who knows what my future will bring in regard to movies or anything else? The Ghoul is still sitting in the garage, still as ugly, and I've not recanted my belief in recycling so I am still in my original quandary. At present, I don't intend to do another movie unless there's money to hire a crew. I'm 73 years old now, and I think I might not have the energy to take on another big all volunteer project.

AG: In closing is there anything else that you'd like to say?

BF: Making the Ghoul was a significant learning experience for me, both technical and managerial. One of my friends commented that the ability to produce this project was probably much more significant than directing it. And, having done it, I'm inclined to agree.

Ghoul from the Tidal Pool was shown free at Yachats Commons on May 22 and June 19, and is due for a rematch on October 30, 2010. 

It is also available on DVD-on-Demand from Amazon. Click on the cover image below to enlarge.

• Sources: Hellhorror.com; IMDb; Burgundy's Facebook page. Many thanks to Burgundy Featherkile for giving so generously of her time and thoughts. 
• Interview and research by Avery Guerra. The rest by Robert Hood.

Addendum: Auditions Scenes

Addendum 2: The Theme Song

In the tradition of the Burt Bacharach and Mack David theme for the 1958 monster flick The Blob (the best part of it, I reckon), here is the 1950s-style theme for The Ghoul from the Tidal Pool, sung by the "Polka Dots":